Waist mounted sounding target and tethered ball

ABSTRACT

A waist clamp in the form of a generally semi-circular member constructed of resilient material such as plastic which clampingly engages the waist area of a child using the device with a paddle or similar device mounted thereon and projecting therefrom. The user&#39;&#39;s body is alternately twisted from side to side to strike opposite sides of the paddle. In the preferred embodiment the paddle is a hollow drum and produces a distinctly higher pitched sound when struck by the ball near the peripheral edge of the drum heads.

United States Patent Chirnomas Jan. 1, 1974 WAIST MOUNTED SOUNDING TARGET AND TETHERED BALL Scheina E. M. Chirnomas, 406 Washington St., Boonton, NJ. 07005 Filed: July 29, 1971 Appl. No.: 167,290

Inventor:

US. Cl. 273/97 R, 273/DlG. 19, 273/95 A Int. Cl A63b 71/00 Field of Search 273/95 A, 97 R, 98,

273/DIG. 19; 46/51 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Klotz 273/97 Haroski... 273/98 Petitto 273/DlG. 19

3,178,851 4/1965 Gage 273/D1G. 19

Primary ExaminerRichard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-Marvin Siskind Att0rneyC. Chittick et a].

[ 5 7 ABSTRACT A waist clamp in the form of a generally semi-circular member constructed of resilient material such as plastic which clampingly engages the waist area of a child using the device with a paddle or similar device mounted thereon and projecting therefrom. The users body is alternately twisted from side to side to strike opposite sides of the paddle. In the preferred embodiment the paddle is a hollow drum and produces a distinctly higher pitched sound when struck by the ball near the peripheral edge of the drum heads.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures WAIST MOUNTED SOUNDING TARGET AND TETHERED BALL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a toy, or amusement device in the form of a waist clamp having a paddle or similar device projecting therefrom and is mounted on the waist area of a child for use in various amusing purposes with a tetherball being attached thereto if desired to enable the ball and paddle to strike each other during manipulation of the device by particular body movement.

2. Description of the Prior Art Previously known devices include waist-encircling belts having various devices mounted thereon which enable such devices to be manipulated in a particular manner by body movement of the person using the device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a waist clamp in the form of an amusement device which includes a projection in the form of a paddle, open ring, ring with musical string attached or a ring simulating a drum or banjo.

Another object of the invention is to provide a waist clamp in the form of a generally semi-circular resilient member for clamping engagement with the waist of a wearer with an adjustable belt securing the device to the waist of the wearer to facilitate support of the projection thereon and enable manipulation thereof as desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide a waist clamp in accordance with the preceding objects in which the projection includes a relatively elongated shank or connecting portion which connects the waistengaging clamp to the paddle or other device forming the projection on the clamp.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a waist clamp which is simple in construction, easy to use, effective for various amusement purposes and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of the waist clamp of the present invention illustrating a paddle connected thereto and a tetherball connected thereto.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention that projects forwardly from the waist area of the wearer.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now specifically to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the waist clamp of the present invention is generally designated by reference numeral and includes a substantially semi-cylindrical waist engaging. and clamping member 12 constructed of resilient material such as plastic or the like which may be generally in the form of a substantially rigid but yet pliable and resilient strap member which is capable of clampingly engaging the side area of the waist region of a child with the device being capable of effectively fitting children having different size waists. Projecting radially outwardly from the band or strap 12 is a shank l4 terminating in a substantially circular paddle 16 which is disposed at a substantial distance from the strap 12 as determined by the length of the shank 14. The entire structure of the strap 12, shank l4 and paddle 16 may be constructed of one piece of material such as plastic or the like which renders the device readily moldable or otherwise formed in a relatively inexpensive manner with the shank 14 being substantially rigid but yet resiliently flexible to enable some degree of flexibility in the paddle 16. The surfaces of the paddle 16 may be smooth or roughened as desired and the size of the paddle may be varied as desired as may the offset length of the shank 15. One end of the strap 12 is provided with a loop or connector 18 to which a flexible belt 20 is attached in any suitable manner with the belt 20 having a series of longitudinally spaced holes 22 therein for adjustable engagement with a fastener 24 on the opposite end of the strap 12. The fastener 24 may be in the form of a simple hook integral with a loop 26 attached to the end of the strap 12 in any suitable manner for adjustably fastening the waist clamp securely to the waist region of the wearer. Other types of fasteners or connectors may be employed for enabling effective adjustment in length of the belt when combined with the strap 12 to enable the device to be easily assembled and disassembled in relation to the wist area of a wearer.

A ball 28 of any suitable character although preferably resilient is tethered to the strap 12 or belt 20 by a flexible tethering line 30 which is flexible and which may be resilient with the ball 28 being adapted to be batted by the paddle by manipulation of the paddle and ball due to body movement of the person wearing the device. While a ball and tether string have been illustrated, other structures may be employed for use in combination with the paddle or the paddle may be employed completely independently of a tethered ball such as by striking a pitched or thrown ball by body movement of the wearer. 1

FIG. 2 illustrates a modified form of the invention generally designated by the numeral 32 and which includes a strap 34 and a shank 36 equivalent to the corresponding structure 12 and 14 in FIG. 1. In this arrangement, the outer end of the shank 36 is provided with a circular ring 38 having an open interior 40 through which a ball may be passed. This type of construction is especially useful in combination with a relatively large inflated ball and may be used in the manner of a paddle to bat the ball or may be used as a target through which the ball passes.

FIG. 3 illustrates another modified form of the invention generally designated by numeral 42 and which includes a strap 44 and shank 46 similar to the corresponding components 12 and 14 in FIG. 1. The outer end of the shank 46 is provided with an annular ring 48 similar to the ring 38 in FIG, 2 but in this construction, a plurality of transversely extending musical strings 50 are mounted in ,the ring 48 with the strings 50 being capable of producing sound when vibrated such as when struck by a ball or when deliberately vibrated by picking with the fingers. The strings may be constructed of taut wire or similar material.

FlG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the invention generally designated by the numeral 52 and which includes a strap 54 and shank 56 similar to the components 12 and 14 in FIG. 1 except that the shank 56 is oriented adjacent one end of the strap 54 and projects to the forward portion of the waist area of the wearer rather than to the side thereof. The outer end of the shank 56 is provided with a cylindrical ring 58 having a drum head 60 attached thereto by rings 62 and clamp rods 64 thus forming a drum which may be engaged by the hands or drumsticks thereby providing an amusement device or a musical instrument. The construction of the drum may vary in that a single drum head or panel 60 may be employed or double heads may be employed and also the specific materials from which the drum head is constructed may be varied to render the device relatively inexpensive or to vary the cost thereof as deemed appropriate.

The various embodiments of the waist clamp may be employed in various ways and provide a highly entertaining amusement device and at the same time develop coordination due to the requirement that body movement be employed to best utilize the device. Competitive games may be developed using the device and the tethered ball may be employed in combination with the paddle or other embodiments of the device or the various embodiments of the device may be employed with untethered balls in playing various games and may be employed in various other manners to play games limited only by the imaginative creation of the child using the device.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An amusement device adapted to be secured to a belt worn around a persons body comprising:

a. a projecting arm affixed at one of its ends to the belt and extending away from the person's body;

b. a hollow substantially cylindrical drum-like target affixed to the other end of said projecting arm, the axis of said target being substantially horizontal, said drum-like target having opposed substantially circular drum heads fastened at their peripheries to said cylindrical target;

a tether affixed at one of its ends to the belt; and

d. a ball attached to the other end of said tether, said ball being swingable, as the persons body is alternately twisted from side to side, to alternately swing and strike first one of said drum heads and then the other of said drum heads causing said target to emit a drum beat indicating that said target has been hit.

2. The amusement device of claim 1 wherein said projecting arm is made integral with the belt.

3. The amusement device of claim 1 wherein said projecting arm is detachably affixed to the belt.

4. The amusement device of claim 1 wherein said hollow drum produces a distinctly lower pitched sound when struck by said ball in the center of its drum head, and produces a distinctly higher pitched sound when struck by said ball near the peripheral edge of its drum head.

5. The amusement device of claim 1 wherein said tether is resilient and said ball is resilient. 

1. An amusement device adapted to be secured to a belt worn around a person''s body comprising: a. a projecting arm affixed at one of its ends to the belt and extending away from the person''s body; b. a hollow substantially cylindrical drum-like target affixed to the other end of said projecting arm, the axis of said target being substantially horizontal, said drum-like target having opposed substantially circular drum heads fastened at their peripheries to said cylindrical target; c. a tether affixed at one of its ends to the belt; and d. a ball attached to the other end of said tether, said ball being swingable, as the person''s body is alternately twisted from side to side, to alternately swing and strike first one of said drum heads and then the other of said drum heads causing said target to emit a drum beat indicating that said target has been hit.
 2. The amusement device of claim 1 wherein said projecting arm is made integral with the belt.
 3. The amusement device of claim 1 wherein said projecting arm is detachably affixed to the belt.
 4. The amusement device of claim 1 wherein said hollow drum produces a distinctly lower pitched sound when struck by said ball in the center of its drum head, and produces a distinctly higher pitched sound when struck by said ball near the peripheral edge of its drum head.
 5. The amusement device of claim 1 wherein said tether is resilient and said ball is resilient. 